The Schizophora are a section of true flies containing 78 families, which are collectively referred to as muscoids, although technically the term "muscoid" should be limited to flies in the superfamily Muscoidea; this is an example of informal, historical usage persisting in the vernacular. The section is divided into two subsections, the Acalyptratae and Calyptratae, which are commonly referred to as acalyptrate muscoids and calyptrate muscoids, respectively.
Hippoboscoidea is a superfamily of the Calyptratae. The flies in this superfamily are blood-feeding obligate parasites of their hosts. Four families are often placed here:
The Tephritoidea are a superfamily of flies. It has over 7,800 species, the majority of them in family Tephritidae.
Nerioidea is a superfamily of Acalyptratae flies.
The Diopsoidea are a small but diverse cosmopolitan superfamily of acalyptrate muscoids, especially prevalent in the tropics. Some flux exists in the family constituency of this group, with the Strongylophthalmyiidae and Tanypezidae formerly being in this group but now in the Nerioidea.
Sphaeroceroidea is a superfamily of flies. It includes the cosmopolitan families of Sphaeroceridae, Heleomyzidae, and Chyromyidae, as well as a few smaller groups. It has about 2,600 species.
The Lauxanioidea are a superfamily of flies that includes the two large families, the Lauxaniidae and Chamaemyiidae, and the small family Celyphidae. Generally, they are small to medium, densely populated, coloured flies. The Chamaemyiidae live as parasites on insects. The family Celyphidae look like beetles.
The Ephydroidea are a superfamily of muscomorph flies, with over 6,000 species.
Carnoidea is a superfamily of Acalyptratae flies.
The Brachyceran infraorder Muscomorpha is a large and diverse group of flies, containing the bulk of the Brachycera and most of the known flies. It includes a number of the most familiar flies, such as the housefly, the fruit fly, and the blow fly. The antennae are short, usually three-segmented, with a dorsal arista. Their bodies are often highly setose, and the pattern of setae is often taxonomically important.
Carnidae, also known as bird flies or filth flies, is a family of flies (Diptera). There are 6 genera, containing about 93 species worldwide.
Clusiidae or "druid flies" is a family of small, thin, yellow to black acalyptrate flies with a characteristic antenna and with the wing usually partially infuscated. They have a cylindrical body. The head is round, the vertical plate reaches the anterior margin of the frons and the vibrissae on the head are large. The costa is interrupted near subcosta and the latter developed throughout length. Larvae are found in the bark of trees, the flies on trunks. The larvae are notable for their ability to jump. Males of many species in the subfamily Clusiodinae have been observed while engaged in lekking behaviour. There are hundreds of species in 14 genera found in all the Ecoregions, although most species occur in tropical regions. The type genus is Clusia Haliday, 1838.
The Tanypezidae, known as the “stretched-foot flies”, are small family of acalyptrate Diptera. The 28 species are found mostly in the New World, divided between two genera: Tanypeza is found in North America, with the type species extending into the Palaearctic, and Neotanypeza is neotropical in distribution and includes one species known only from Dominican amber from 17–20 million years ago, N. dominicana Lonsdale & Apigian. This distribution contrasts that of its sister family, the Strongylophthalmyiidae, which is mostly East Asian in distribution.
The Platystomatidae are a distinctive family of flies (Diptera) in the superfamily Tephritoidea.
The Celyphidae, commonly known as beetle flies or beetle-backed flies, are a family of flies. About 115 species in about 9 genera are known chiefly from the Oriental and Afrotropic biogeographic regions with one lineage in the New World.
Fergusonina, the sole genus in the family of Fergusoninidae, are gall-forming flies. There are about 40 species in the genus, all of them producing galls on Eucalyptus, Melaleuca, Corymbia, and Metrosideros species in Australia and New Zealand.
Somatia is the sole genus of the acalyptrate brachyceran fly family Somatiidae. The genus includes about seven Neotropical species of small black and yellow flies with a stout and rounded thorax having transverse suture. The legs are separated from the main body by an elongated post-coxal bridge. The broad abdomen is downcurved. The antenna are elbowed with the arista bipectinate. Somatiids resemble members of the Syringogastridae due to the enlarged pronotum and a postcoxal bridge but they have a petiolate abdomen.
Eremoneura is a clade of flies within the Brachycera that includes the Empidoidea and the Cyclorrhapha and is a sister of the Asilomorpha. They are thought to have evolved around the Mesozoic. The group includes fossils described in the genus Chimeromyia from 125 million year old amber which show both empidoid and cyclorrhaphan characters. The monotypic family Apystomyiidae has also been placed within the Eremoneura as a sister of the Cyclorrhapha.
